Noggin the Nog

The 1992 book: The Sagas of Noggin the Nog

Noggin the Nog is a fictional character appearing in a BBC Television animated series (of the same name, originally broadcast 1959–1965 and 1982) and a series of illustrated books (published 1965–1977), created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. The television series is considered a cult classic from the golden age of British children's television. Noggin himself is the simple, kind and unassuming "King of the Northmen" in a roughly Viking Age setting, with various fantastic elements such as dragons, flying machines and talking birds.

Peter Firmin is said to have come up with the name of Noggin after travelling on the London Underground and seeing Neasden tube station, which made him think "Noggin".[1]

Some of the original artwork for the series is on display at the Rupert Bear Museum in Canterbury.[2] The appearance of the characters was influenced by that of the Lewis chessmen in the British Museum.[3]

  1. ^ 'Noggin rides again', Arts Guardian, 28 July 2014; An interview with Peter Firmin by Julia Raeside. Firmin also recalled how his children helped him name some of the characters (e.g., Nooka of the Nooks came from his daughter talking about the film Nanook of the North)
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference CanterburyCityCouncil was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ 'Noggin rides again', Arts Guardian, 28 July 2014